Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Elliott Naylor looks awful. There are dark circles beneath his bloodshot eyes and dandruff flaking along his hairline. His solicitor, Geraldine Metcalf, a sophisticated thirtysomething woman in a smart black suit and cream blouse, sits beside him. Her poise and good posture are in stark contrast to the way Elliott is hunched over the Formica table.

Zuri completes the pre-interview formalities, then hands over to Jennie once the tape is running. The set-up is more formal than for the previous conversations they’ve had with Elliott, and intentionally so. They have to get the truth this time.

Jennie looks at Elliott. She tries not to think about how he and the others were meeting up without her, excluding her and using her beloved Nikon SLR camera without her knowledge. She squashes down the emotion that’s threatening to bubble to the surface. Stays calm, professional. ‘Thanks for coming in again to talk to us.’

Elliott frowns. ‘Look, I know what this is about, Jennie. You’re fixated on the money I give to Simon each month, right? You seem to think there’s something sinister about it, but there really isn’t. It is just a mate helping out another mate.’

It’s interesting that he’s raised the money. She hasn’t mentioned it to him other than during their last interview, and that hardly qualifies as fixated. ‘We’ve only asked you on one occasion about the money you give to Mr Ackhurst each month, as far as I understand.’

‘But you asked Simon about it too, didn’t you? He told me last night when we got together with Lottie to raise a glass in memory of Hannah and Rob.’ Elliott’s eyes become watery. He clasps his hands together on the table. ‘I can’t believe they’re both gone, can you?’

Jennie wants to remind him that she’s the one asking the questions here, not him, but he looks so upset that she doesn’t have the heart. She can’t believe they’re gone either, but they are, and she needs to find out why. ‘So, you discussed it with Simon?’

Zuri glances at her. Jennie knows she’s deviating from the plan they’d agreed, but she’s following Elliott’s lead. They need to know more about the dynamic between the two men and the payments.

‘Yeah,’ says Elliott, nodding. ‘Like I said, the three of us met up last night. Simon said you’d been over to the boat asking him questions about Hannah and about the money. I just want to clear up any confusion.’

‘Well, good,’ says Jennie. She tries to stay focused on the interview, but the fact that the three of them met up without her is galling. She couldn’t have met them anyway: they’re suspects and she’s leading the investigation. But it still hurts. ‘Last time we met, you told us that the reason you make the payments to Simon Ackhurst is because you’re a generous guy and you’re helping out an old friend; do you stand by that statement?’

‘I do,’ says Elliott, glancing at his solicitor. He waits for her to give him a small nod before continuing. ‘There is more to it, though. When we last spoke, I told you that I’d attempted to take my own life.’ He pauses, looking at Jennie for confirmation.

‘You did,’ says Jennie.

‘Well, the reason my attempt failed is that Simon found me. He alerted my parents and the emergency services. If he hadn’t got me help, I’d have died. I owe him my life.’ Elliott’s voice cracks with emotion. ‘That’s why, once I was earning proper money after university, and when Simon came out of jail, I started giving him some money each month. His life hadn’t gone the way he’d wanted, but he’d faced his demons and was trying to make a real go of things. I wanted to help him, and I’ve carried on helping him ever since.’

His story tallies with what Simon had said. More facts that she never knew about her friends. More reasons to make her feel as if she was never really a proper member of the darkroom crew. It seems she was always an outsider, even though she never realised at the time.

‘Why continue the payments?’ asks Zuri.

‘Why not?’ Elliott asks, an air of exasperation in his voice. ‘I was grateful at the time, and I’m grateful now.’

Jennie’s not used to seeing Elliott getting riled up, but he’s not as calm as he’s been before. When she knew him back in school, he was always the steady one of the group, logical and considerate. She understands why he started making the payments to Simon; she just isn’t convinced he’s been honest about why he’s continued them for so long.

‘By our calculations, you’ve given Simon Ackhurst just over three hundred and twenty thousand pounds,’ says Zuri, undeterred. ‘That’s a lot of money.’

Elliott shrugs. ‘I’d say my life is worth it.’

Realising they’re not getting any further forward on the payments, Jennie decides to change tack. ‘Paul Jennings denies being at the school at any time of the day or night on the date Hannah disappeared.’

‘Well, he would, wouldn’t he?’ says Elliott. His tone is light, but there’s no mistaking the tension in his jaw.

‘Are you certain that you saw him on the day she went missing?’ asks Jennie.

‘Absolutely,’ says Elliott.

Zuri glances at Jennie, frowning.

Jennie knows why; she sees it too. There’s doubt in Elliott’s eyes, and fear. He’s lying. Her stomach lurches. She has to push him, she knows that, but if she does it’ll kill whatever is left of their childhood friendship.

Zuri’s gaze intensifies. The pause is becoming prolonged, awkward.

Jennie tries to harden her heart and use the hurt she’s feeling about him excluding her to fuel her courage. She feels sick, really sick, but she pushes it down. She has to. ‘Are you sure? Perhaps instead it was Simon who turned up at the basement that evening? We know he was angry about the rumours that Hannah was sleeping with Mr Edwards. Did he confront her? Did his jealousy get the better of him? Did he attack Hannah and kill her, then bury her body?’

‘No,’ says Elliott, loudly. ‘Simon would never—’

‘Did you help him cover up what he did?’ says Jennie.

Elliott shakes his head. ‘I wouldn’t—’

‘Or did all the resentment you’d been harbouring about her exposing you bubble to the surface?’ says Jennie, challenging him further. ‘Did you kill Hannah?’

‘No, I’d—’

‘Did Simon help you cover up what you’d done?’ continues Jennie, pointing at Elliott. ‘Is that why you’ve been paying him all these years?’

‘No. That’s not true. It’s not true.’ Tears stream down Elliott’s face. He looks at her, horrified. ‘Why would you say that, Jen? Why?’

Elliott’s raw emotion, and the anguish on his face, makes it feel as if her heart is about to shatter, but she can’t stop pushing. She has to know the truth.

‘You’re harassing my client,’ says the solicitor. ‘Any more of this and we’ll leave the interview.’

‘The interview’s finished when I say so,’ snaps Jennie. She narrows her gaze at Elliott. ‘You’re a killer, aren’t you? A liar and a manipulator. You’re lying to us, to me.’

‘Jennie, please,’ whimpers Elliott. ‘Stop—’

‘You make people think you’re their friend and then you use them and discard them.’ Jennie’s heart is pounding. Her voice is getting louder. She slams her hands down on the table, making Elliott flinch. ‘Did you discard Hannah? Did you kill her? Admit it, Elliott. Tell me what you did. Tell me that you killed her and that you pay Simon to keep quiet. Tell me the—’

‘Enough!’ bellows Elliott’s solicitor, angry and red-faced as she begins to stand. ‘We’re going.’

Jennie holds up her hands. She nods at Zuri, indicating for her to continue the interview. The expression on her DS’s face tells her she went too far, but that’s bullshit.

I didn’t go far enough.

As Zuri persuades Elliott’s solicitor to stay, and continues the questioning in a less confrontational manner, Jennie watches Elliott. There’s a haunted look on his face, but that’s not what has caught her attention.

Clearly unsettled, he’s clasping and unclasping his hands together on the desk as he talks, and as he does so Jennie looks at the marks on his hands that she’d assumed were eczema. She glances at her own hand; at the red, blistered acid burn. The mark, although fresher, is not dissimilar to Elliott’s. She looks up, and their eyes meet. Next moment, Elliott swiftly removes his hands from the table and puts them in his pockets out of sight.

They don’t get anything else of use from the interview. Elliott’s solicitor is on them like a hawk for any questions that could be perceived as out of line, and Elliott himself becomes increasingly withdrawn, sitting back in his seat with his head bowed, avoiding eye contact. They call it a day after another half an hour and watch as Elliott and his brief walk away towards the exit, the solicitor speaking to him in urgent, hushed tones.

When the pair leave through the double doors at the end of the corridor, Jennie turns and heads towards the stairs, still thinking about the acid and the marks on Elliott’s hands. Zuri goes with her.

‘What happened in there?’ asks Zuri. ‘You totally blindsided me.’

‘Sorry, I felt he was holding out on us and I wanted to push him more,’ says Jennie.

‘You certainly did that.’ Zuri frowns. ‘Did you know him well at school?’

Jennie tenses, but tries not to show her discomfort at the question. She turns into the stairwell, stepping slightly ahead of her DS so she doesn’t have to make eye contact as she replies, ‘As well as anyone.’

‘Please don’t fob me off,’ says Zuri. ‘Just how many of our suspects were you close with?’

Shit.

‘Look I knew him, okay? We were friends almost thirty years ago, but I haven’t seen him since school,’ replies Jennie, trying to keep her tone light. ‘I guess he was trying to appeal to my sense of nostalgia to get me to back off but, the thing is, I don’t remember my time at White Cross Academy especially fondly, so it was never going to work.’

As they reach the top of the stairs Zuri turns and holds Jennie’s gaze for a long moment, then shakes her head. ‘For the record, I think you’re right that he’s holding something back. Any hypothesis on what?’

‘Nothing concrete,’ says Jennie, trying not to think about the anguish on Elliott’s face as she accused him of murder. ‘But something isn’t adding up. I’ve got a hunch, but nothing behind it. I want to check a couple of things, then let’s debrief properly.’

‘All right.’ Zuri pauses, her hand on the door into the open-plan team office. ‘Are you okay, Jennie? I don’t mean to pry, and I’m not judging you, really, but you seem kind of detached. We usually share theories before we check them. Are you freezing me out?’

‘I’m fine, just a bit tired,’ says Jennie, annoyed that Zuri is back to this again. ‘You don’t need to worry about me or the investigation. Like I told you when you asked before, I’m fully committed to it.’

Zuri does look worried though. Maybe her explanation of why she went so far berating Elliott didn’t reassure her DS as much as she hoped.

Jennie exhales hard. She can’t bloody win – people either think she doesn’t care enough about the case or that she’s overdoing it. She knows her emotions are all over the place and, as much as she wants to believe Zuri is wrong, she also realises she’s probably acting differently from usual. But she’s trying, she really is.

Knowing she needs to keep Zuri onside and can’t afford to get defensive, Jennie softens her voice and forces a smile. ‘I’m fine, really, but thanks for asking; I appreciate it. When this case is over, let’s go to that nice Italian and eat pasta and drink all the wine.’

Zuri smiles, but there’s still concern behind her eyes. ‘Sounds good.’

They enter the open-plan area. As they walk towards the desks, Jennie sees through the glass wall that sitting in the DCI’s office are Martin and a stern-faced woman she recognises as being from HR. The DCI looks like he’s in full flow. Not wanting to get too close, she diverts across to where Naomi is sitting.

Naomi and Steve have desks opposite each other and you couldn’t get two more different spaces. Steve’s is all old takeaway coffee cups, chocolate wrappers and piles of paperwork, whereas Naomi’s is spotless and paperless aside from the file she’s currently working with.

Naomi looks up as Jennie approaches. ‘How was the interview with Naylor?’

‘Not hugely illuminating,’ says Jennie, stopping beside Naomi. ‘But there are a few things I’d like you to check on.’

‘Sure,’ says Naomi, reaching for her notebook and pen.

‘Can you double-check Simon Ackhurst’s alibi, and then go through the photography club inventory for the month Hannah went missing and look for any orders of chemicals, specifically hydrochloric acid?’

Naomi jots down the actions onto her pad. ‘No problem.’

‘Thanks,’ says Jennie. She glances towards the DCI’s office and her stomach flips. Inside, Martin is jumping to his feet. From his aggressive pointing, and the way he’s leaning over the desk towards Campbell and the HR woman, Jennie can see Martin’s furious. She can guess why.

As he turns towards the door Jennie stiffens. After going through what happened with the DCI earlier, and the difficult interview with Elliott, she can’t face having to deal with Martin right now.

I need to get out of here.